The Primitives

THE PRIMITIVES

SPIN-O-RAMA  

11-SONG CD • SPIN-O-RAMA • HIDDEN IN THE SHADOWS • WEDNESDAY WORLD • FOLLOW THE SUN DOWN • PURIFYING TONE • LOSE THE REASON • PETALS • WORKING ISN’T WORKING • VELVET VALLEY • DANDELION SEED • LET’S GO ‘ROUND AGAIN  

The Primitives made a splash in the British late 1980s Indie Pop explosion, but gave up in the early 1990s as tastes changed. They reformed, albeit with a new bassist, about 5 years ago to record a covers EP 3 years ago which gave them the courage to come back with a full length CD of originals on Elefant Records.

The bouncy title track “Spin-O-Rama” has the right jingle-jangle and cheerful innocence as if 1988 was yesterday without losing any of that freshness in Tracy Tracy’s voice. “Hidden In The Shadows” is a bit heavier and is accented by a more 2-2 oriented beat which gives it a greater insistence, but the lead guitar work from Paul Court lighten it up in the way only an Englishman could. Some might be disappointed that Tracy Tracy doesn’t sing everything, but Paul Court more than holds his own on the vocals of “Wednesday’s World,” which also fits in well with the genre.

On “Follow The Sun Down” Tracy Tracy seduces you with a sexy mantra with loads of atmosphere. Paul Court returns for the gentle melody of “Purifying Tone” while he and Tracy team up for the duet “Lose The reason” which works well in a poppy uplifting manner and with a keyboard solo to round it out. “Petals” is an unusual mix of poppy vocals with a surf bases 2-2 beat and a relentless pace where I’m somehow reminded of Petula Clark intonation wise when the singer claims she ‘doesn’t want to be a fl ower.’My irony detector is on yellow alert when Paul Court sings about his ineptitude for work on “Working Isn’t Working,” which makes a tongue-in-cheek cliché on the lifestyle of many artists. While I really like the garagy riff and tambourine backed soundtrack of “Velvet Valley,” the endless ‘sha-la-las’ are a bit of wasted opportunity to make a real impression. “Dandelion Seed” is thankfully a bit deeper and more atmospheric. But then again, “Let’s Go Around Again” is just a cheap reprise of the melody of the title track as well.

Somehow I get the impression they weren’t taking everything seriously on purpose in order not to blow their cover as extremely competent indie poppers with a knack for simple sounding guitar melodies and heartwarming vocals. [Gecko]

Contact-- www.the-primitives.co.uk/